Fishing/hunting report

Chollas: Getting stocked with DFG trout this week. Open daily to youngsters 15 and under. San Diego Fly Fishers sponsors a Lend-A-Rod program on Sundays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and it includes free bait and tackle and fishing tips.

Cuyamaca: The lake is full and water continues to fill the East Side. Fishing has been very good since the weather warmed last week. Tackle shop now is open 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Shoreline anglers may fish until 5:30 p.m. Marie Barthal, 11, 4-12 trout, night crawler, Pumphouse Cove. Nevileen Lee, 8, Lakeside, 10 trout, fishing Fletcher Cove with his grandfather and taking in his first fishing trip ever. Peggy Frank, Irvine, 3-8 trout that measured 20 inches long, worm, on the bottom in front of the Lone Pine. Lot of limits being caught. Private boats now are allowed on the lake, but the boats must be sprayed for quagga mussels by a high-pressure heated wash prior to entering the lake. Cost is $10 for the spraying and it's good for multiple trips to Cuyamaca so long as the boat is not used in another reservoir in between visits. Open daily.

Diamond Valley Lake: Lake report indicates the DFG has been inundating the lake with catchable and fingerling trout. Also, the lake will add 1,000 pounds of trout from Mt. Lassen this week. Fishing for largemouth bass and striped bass good, but as good as it gets for rainbow trout. Big limits reported with big fish. Matt Thompson and Jack Kashersky of Hemet caught their limits totaling 49.39 pounds fishing with Kastmasters near the inlet. Guide Mark Franco of Temecula caught a 35.3-pound limit with his biggest at 8 pounds. He fished mini-jigs near the East Dam. Franco said he used a 7-foot rod with 2-pound test line and tiny mini-jigs to get the fish. To inquire about fishing with Franco, call him at (909) 708-6515. Jeremy Hammond, Murrieta, 6.19-pound trout, night crawler, Marina area. Jeremy Campbell, Lakewood, 6.14-pound trout, Kastmaster, near the dam. Roy Leevano, 7.58 trout, plastic crawdad, shoreline. Michael Boochie, Murrieta, 6.93-pound trout, night crawlers, shoreline. Catfish also biting. Joseph Alvarnto, Riverside, 11.13-pound channel catfish, anchovies, shoreline. Occasional crappie caught. Brandon Taylor, Mira Loma, 2.76-pound crappie, spoon, East Dam. Open daily. Launch ramp closed until further notice.

Dixon: Getting stocked with 1,500 pounds of trout this week. Action should be very good for both trout and bass. Warming water should kick off bass action. Open daily.

Jennings: Fishing turned on here, with good trout action from Hermit Cove to Eagle Point. Smaller, male bass are bedding everywhere, according to supervising ranger Hugh Marx. Water temperature hitting 63 degrees, but no sign of the fillys. Best spots for trout were Half Moon Cove and Cactus Patch, with inflated night crawlers on 2 feet of leader, with the bait dipped in scent the best rigging combination. Trollers getting limits quickly. Mt. Lassen delivers another 1,000 pounds of trout this week. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Check
www.lakejennings.org
for more information.

Loveland: The 61 anglers reported 12 bass (all released) and 7 carp. Open daily to hike-in fishing only on a limited area of shoreline. No permits required. Fishing license is required. New 140-foot fishing pier open on the west side of the fishing cove.

Morena: Stan Kieniewicz of Vista smashed the lake's 10-year-old trout record by landing a 13-pound, 8-ounce trout, one of many oversized rainbows landed last week at Morena. Kieniewicz used Power Bait to fool the big rainbow. Escondido's Dave Gehrke caught a 8-14 trout, also on Power Bait. Gordon Gardner weighed in a 8-14 that he caught from shore. In all, rangers reported 12 trout over 5 pounds were caught last week. Not only that, but big bass also are being landed. Two bass over 10 pounds (no weights given) were reported by an angler who wanted to remain anonymous. Water remains low and the boat launch is not recommended for boats over 19 feet. Boat rentals available seven days a week and on holidays. Open daily.

Murray: The 74 anglers checked reported 1 redear sunfish and 2 rainbow trout. DFG to stock this week. Open daily to fishing and boating. Pay fees at iron rangers near the abandoned concession building or at key access points.

Otay, Upper: The 9 anglers checked reported 21 bass (all released). Open Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday for fishing, sunrise to sunset. Upper Otay is a catch and release only fishery. Bait is not permitted, only artificial lures with barbless hooks. Boats are not permitted on Upper Otay, only shore fishing, waders and float tubes.

Poway: Big trout continue to bite here. Viridiana Chavarin, 9.1 trout. The Open Trout Derby is set for March 14-15. The lake will be stocked with 2,500 pounds of trout prior to the Derby. The Derby runs from sunrise to sunset on Saturday, sunrise to noon on Sunday. Prizes will be awarded for the largest trout overall and in three divisions (Men, Women and Youth). There will also be raffle prizes. Derby tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youths for each day of the event. A Derby ticket must be purchased in order to fish on either day even if you do not choose to participate in the Derby. You must have a daily permit in addition to your derby ticket. Fifty motorboats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis for Derby participants. A stock of 2,500 pounds of trout, including trophy size up to 15 pounds, will be stocked on Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Lake Poway will be closed to boating and fishing on Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13, in preparation for the Derby. Open Wednesday through Sunday. In order to prevent the introduction and infestation of quagga mussels, the following items are prohibited at Lake Poway: float tubes, private motors and anchors, live bait containers, fish finders, floating catch baskets, live bait from any source other than the Lake Poway concession, any items the staff considers to be potential contaminants.

Santee Lakes: Dalton Thomas, 16, 10-5 trout, chartreuse Power Bait, Lake 4. Raymond Paul, Santee, 9-8 trout, night crawler with green Power Bait, Lake 3. One thousand pounds of trout was split between Lakes 3 and 4 last week. Anyone catching a trout 5 pounds or better is eligible for a drawing for a 32-inch flat screen TV. The drawing is April 1. Next plant of trout is the week of March 13. Check
www.santeelakes.com
. Open daily.

San Vicente: Closed. For construction schedules and information on the Emergency Storage Project, go to the San Diego County Water Authority's web site at
www.sdcwa.org
and click on San Vicente Dam Raise.

Sutherland: Opens for fishing Saturday. Open Saturdays and Sundays only. Assistant reservoir keeper Diane Dine said the lake has dropped 15 feet since Feb. 3. She said the City of San Diego's water department will continue drawing water out until Thursday. Dine said the gauge reading is at 75, more than 70 feet from spilling. Water continues to flow into the lake from Mesa Grande and Santa Ysabel. Launch conditions will be “at your own risk due to low water level,” according to the city.

Wohlford: Next plant of rainbow trout due Wednesday, with 1,500 pounds to be stocked. The water temperature is still a chilly 53.6 degrees at the surface, 53.6 degrees at 15 feet. Low water level putting most of the lake's structure out of the water right now. For the most part the trout action doesn't kick in each day until around 9:30 a.m. Night crawlers have been the most successful bait. Ken Frattini, Vista, 4-14 trout, chartreuse worm, Willow Cove. Gabe Moriel, 4-6 trout. Don Remington, 4-6 trout. Rudy Baay, 3-12 trout. Bass fishing also starting to heat up. Bass up to 8 pounds reported. Chris Linker, Escondido, 4-4 bass, crankbait, Bass Point. Whopper Contest Winners For February were: Lang Nguien, 6-7 trout; Scott Osborne, 5-5 bass; Jerry Harris, 1-10 crappie. Open daily. Ban on private boats remains in place due to the threat of quagga mussels. Other banned equipment include canoes, kayaks, float tubes, trolling motors, fish finders, anchors, etc. Rental boats available. Open daily.

Squid: The commercial light boats have left La Jolla, but they took most of the squid with them. La Jolla has settled down, but there's still some squid to be caught and used for bait. That's what Capt. Jason Coz did on the Dolphin over the weekend and scored big on rockfish. Fishing on a half-day run, Coz had live squid for his anglers, who boated some hefty rockfish and cabezon to welcome back the opening of rockfish fishing off Southern California.

East Cape: The terrific inshore action continues, with a consistent dorado bite last week, with some of them hitting 45 pounds, according to John Ireland at Rancho Leonero Resort. Good fishing conditions brought out the best in both the anglers and the sea. Roosterfish up to 35 pounds with a mix of jack crevalle also showing inshore. Lots of sierra directly off the Rancho Leonero Resort.

Cabo San Lucas: Billfish action returned to the Golden Gate Bank, but marlin were caught in a lot of different areas. High boat for the week once again was the Gaviota VIII, with Capt. Juan Dominguez. He reported 23 striped marlin in six days of fishing. The Gaviota Fleet reported 99 striped marlin (with 86 releases), 1 Mako shark, 1 wahoo, 6 yellowfin tuna and 76 dorado. The dorado were in the 15-to 25-pound range, with an occasional fish out to 50 pounds.

Noteworthy: Jeff Simonides' next hunter safety class is over three days, March 12, 13 and 14. Check
www.sdhuntersafety.com
for dates, times and to register for classes. Or call him at (619) 200-5236.

Surf Fishing: Jeff Kuntz has earned his legendary status at Hugh Cobb's Pacific Coast Bait & Tackle in Oceanside. Kuntz has some incredible surf-fishing skills and an innate ability to find big halibut and striped bass, the latter a rare catch for beach fishermen. Last year Kuntz caught two large striped bass from the beach and on Tuesday last week he beached a 28-pound, 1-ounce striped bass off Del Mar. Cobb said Kuntz's lure of choice is the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow. “He's out there four or five mornings a week prior to going to work,” Cobb said. “Not only does he take halibut, but also perch, bass and croaker on those lures.” Cobb doesn't sponsor a striper derby. There just enough of them to supply such a contest. But he does sponsor other derbies for halibut, corbina and surf perch. His first one, the Surf Perch Derby, began March 1. Cobb said perch have been scarce, but he's going forward with it. On another note, Cobb and 14 buddies are on their annual fishing adventure at L.A. Bay on the east coast of Baja. They've got a four-vehicle caravan loaded with fishing gear and supplies.

More Surf Fishing: Morgan Promnitz of Bluewater Tackle and San Diego Fly Shop reports spotting a school of corbina in the 2-to 3-pound range swimming off La Jolla Shores. Promnitz, who was returning from a kayak fishing trip, noticed the fish swimming in the preserve. That's a good sign, though, with that many corbina schooled up and swimming through. Promnitz was part of the action last week when squid arrived in big numbers off La Jolla. One angler landed a 52-pound yellowtail that would have weighed much more, but the angler bled it out. Promnitz knew of some other big catches on yellowtail that included a 46-, a 45-and a 43-pounder. Mixed in with the catches were some very large black seabass, a protected species. Promnitz knew of an estimated 150-pound black seabass that was caught and released during the squid fray.